The Learning Corner by Precursor

By Mia Farnham, Charles Hudson

Welcome to the Learning Corner, a weekly Precursor Ventures podcast, where members of the Precursor team walk through their favorite articles and news snippets across the venture ecosystem.... more

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FAQs about The Learning Corner by Precursor:

How many episodes does The Learning Corner by Precursor have?

The podcast currently has 78 episodes available.

The Learning Corner by Precursor episodes:

April 30, 2026 Episode #77: The Broken Seed Model, YC's Revenue Honesty Rules, China Blocks Meta's Manus Deal
This week on The Learning Corner, Charles and Mia dig into Lucas Vaz's viral thread arguing that the era of easy, low-priced, diversified venture investing is over and that seed fund math is fundamentally broken. They also break down Garry Tan and YC's official guidance on why founders need to stop conflating LOIs, GMV, and ARR before it costs them investor trust. The episode closes on China's decision to block Meta's $2 billion acquisition of Manus AI and what it signals about the closing window for cross-border AI deals.
The Narrow Path
Being Truthful and Precise About Revenue
China Vetoes Meta's $2B Manus Deal
(0:00) Introduction, episode overview, and standards in a competitive environment
(0:52) The Narrow Path by Lucas Vaz
(2:13) Charles Hudson's thoughts on seed investing
(5:26) The role of seed funds and strategy
(7:14) Gary Tan on revenue metrics and the impact of imprecise revenue language
(14:22) Founders and investor meetings
(14:41) Meta's blocked acquisition of Manus AI and national interest in AI
(18:02) Episode closing remarks
...more
19min
April 23, 2026 Episode #76: My Biggest Founder Regret, Fundamental Truths in VC, SpaceX Cursor Partnership
This week on The Learning Corner, Manny Medina, co-founder of Outreach, shares his biggest regret as a founder and why he believes killing your competition is the actual job description of a VC-backed founder. Samir Kaji breaks down his fundamental truths in venture capital today, touching on the widening barbell between large and small firms, ARR reporting concerns, and honest uncertainty around AI. We close with the bombshell SpaceX and Cursor partnership announcement, unpacking what a $60 billion acquisition option and a million H100 equivalent supercomputer really signals about where the AI arms race is headed.
My Biggest Regret as Founder of Outreach
Fundamental Truths in VC Today
SpaceX x Cursor Partnership
(0:00) Introduction, strategy in real life vs. business school, and Manny Medina's post
(2:01) Charles Hudson on competition, market strategy, and addressing well-funded competitors
(7:05) Importance of founder differentiation and realism in competitor assessment
(9:10) Samir Kaji's post on VC truths and ARR reporting
(10:00) Large vs. small VC firms and their impact on startup strategy
(12:36) Caution and challenges around AI, ARR reporting, and ROI demonstration
(16:09) SpaceX and Cursor partnership deal
(18:54) Speculation on SpaceX-Cursor deal outcomes and lower compute costs
(19:52) Closing remarks, thanks, and goodbye
...more
21min
April 16, 2026 Episode #75: Domain Expertise in Vertical AI, The Changing Math of Seed Investing, A Generation of Cheaters
This week we are diving into whether domain expertise is becoming more important in Vertical AI, not less, breaking down new data from The Euclid Ventures team that challenges the narrative that youth and technical ability are all you need to build a winning company. We then get into Micah Rosenbloom's breakdown of seed valuation inflation and what it means for early stage return math in today's market. We close on Kyla Scanlon's piece on AI and academic cheating, and what it really signals about the generation of workers and founders entering the workforce.
No Country for Old Founders — The Verticalist
The Changing Math of Seed Investing — Micah Rosenbloom
A Generation of Cheaters — Kyla Scanlon
(0:00) Top venture outliers and introduction to Learning Corner
(0:47) Does domain expertise still matter for founders? Insights and data on vertical AI startups
(2:03) The role of relationships and credibility challenges for younger founders
(5:30) AI’s impact on startup dynamics, buyer preferences, and seed round inflation
(8:43) Valuations, seed investor strategies, and entry price-outcome relationships
(12:40) AI in education: evolving definitions of cheating and mixed messages
(16:06) Critical thinking, grit, and work ethic challenges in the AI era
(18:06) Professional embarrassment, laziness in AI use, and episode wrap-up
...more
19min
April 09, 2026 Episode #74: Round Names Are Dead, How To Ask For Advice, Private Wealth Goes Direct
This week on The Learning Corner, Mia and Charles dig into a piece by Ashley Smith of Vermilion Cliffs Ventures on why seed round names have become essentially meaningless, with YC Demo Day valuations hitting $40M post for companies with eight weeks of runway. They then unpack Auren Hoffman's sharp and practical breakdown of how to actually ask for advice without wasting people's time, and why closing the loop is the most underrated relationship builder in your network. The episode closes on a major structural shift in venture: family offices and private wealth firms cutting out VC middlemen and going directly into startups, as covered in a recent TechCrunch Equity episode. Tune in for a conversation spanning venture pricing, shifting capital dynamics, and the soft skills that still matter in a world full of AI answers.
Round Names Are Meaningless Right Now - Ashley Smith
How to Ask for Advice (Without Wasting Everyone's Time) - Auren Hoffman
Why Private Wealth Is Cutting Out the VC Middleman - TechCrunch Equity
(0:00) Episode introduction and the role of venture capitalists
(0:59) Seed round pricing and its impact on venture returns
(5:16) Outbound sourcing and round names in venture capital
(7:53) Asking for advice and providing resources
(10:59) Closing the loop and treating advice as a portfolio
(15:18) Family offices and private wealth firms in venture capital
(19:22) Co-investing with LPs, investment risks, and valuation dynamics
(20:54) Trust-based decisions and wrap-up
...more
22min
April 02, 2026 Episode #73: Startups Need Better Stories, The Value-Add LP Era, Agile Funding Is Back
This week on The Learning Corner, Ashley Mayer makes the case that tech's biggest players have forfeited the narrative and it is now up to startup founders to give people a reason to root for the future. Pavel Prata at Murph Capital argues that the value-add model that transformed venture is now playing out one layer up at the LP level, and most allocators haven't caught up yet. We also dig into Jenny Fielding's take on the return of agile funding and whether stacking small SAFEs in an AI-driven world is a founder-friendly evolution or a short-term optimization with long-term consequences. All that and more on this week's episode.
We Need Better Stories
The Value-Add LP Era
Welcome Back to the Era of Agile Funding
(0:00) Introduction, customer focus, and startup storytelling
(2:21) The impact of AI messaging and public perception
(3:47) Narrative challenges and tech company influence on startups
(4:59) Distinctive founder narratives and fundraising strategies
(6:41) Customer-focused branding and B2B applications
(8:05) The role of AI in healthcare
(8:38) Value-add LPs and their evolving role in venture capital
(14:40) High resolution and agile fundraising strategies
(18:23) The impact of continuous fundraising on founders
(19:49) Closing remarks and thank yous
...more
21min
March 26, 2026 Episode #72: Delve's Compliance Fraud, Has Startup Advice Ever Worked, OpenAI Refocuses
This week we cover the explosive whistleblower exposé on Delve, a YC-backed compliance startup accused of fabricating audit evidence and leaving hundreds of clients unknowingly exposed to legal liability. We then dig into Jerry Neumann's "We Have Learned Nothing," a data-backed argument that decades of startup frameworks have produced no measurable improvement in whether companies actually succeed. We close with the Wall Street Journal's reporting on OpenAI's major strategic pivot away from its "do everything" approach to refocus on coding and enterprise, and what that signals about competition with Anthropic.
The Delve Compliance Fraud Exposé
We Have Learned Nothing - Jerry Neumann via Colossus
OpenAI to Cut Back on Side Projects in Push to Nail Core Business - WSJ
(0:00) Introduction to The Learning Corner and the startup advisory complex
(0:53) Delve compliance automation startup and the challenge of diligence
(4:11) The allure and evaluation of faster compliance solutions
(8:23) Jerry Neumann's argument on the utility and impact of startup frameworks
(15:59) OpenAI's strategic shift, competitive pressure, and resource allocation
(20:32) The role of narrative cycles in startup success
(21:09) Closing remarks and thanks
...more
22min
March 19, 2026 Episode #71: Symbolic Capitalism and the Attention Game, Token Output as a Performance KPI, Choosing Your Intellectual Shoulders
This week on The Learning Corner, Om Malik makes the case that reputation and perceived authority now convert faster than financial capital, and that the tech ecosystem has fully internalized that game. We then dig into a provocative LinkedIn post from CRV's Reid Christian, where CEOs are starting to build token output per month into formal performance reviews as a core KPI. We close with a thoughtful piece from Deciens on intellectual lineage and why choosing whose shoulders you stand on is one of the highest leverage decisions a founder or investor can make. Three reads, one tight conversation.
Neo Symbolic Capitalism — Om Malik
Token Output as a Performance KPI — Reid Christian, CRV
Epistula 13: Choosing Shoulders — Deciens
(0:11) Introduction and episode overview
(0:38) Om Malik's article on neosymbolic capitalism and the role of reputation
(2:17) Founders building public presence and company visibility comparisons
(3:14) The role of social media in symbolic capital and strategic branding
(7:50) The reward of what moves over what is true and gaining attention in a crowded market
(11:24) Reid Christian LinkedIn post on token usage as KPI and its effectiveness
(17:03) Entry-level jobs, AI nativeness, and choosing intellectual giants
(19:43) Impact of media-driven hero worship and authenticity in venture capital
(21:31) Learning from unconventional domains and parallels with entrepreneurship
(23:11) Closing remarks and listener appreciation
...more
24min
March 12, 2026 Episode #70: The VC Returns Suck Narrative, Venture's Nifty Fifty Moment, The Four Approaches to Early Stage Venture
This week on The Learning Corner, Micah Rosenbloom from Founder Collective challenges the viral narrative that VC returns suck and asks whether we are all just spinning data to fit our own models. Jeff Weinstein draws a striking parallel between today's AI funding frenzy and the Nifty Fifty stocks of the 1970s, arguing that being right about a company has never been enough if you are wrong about the price. Rob Go at NextView rounds things out with a sharp framework breaking down the four approaches to early stage venture and what the real failure mode looks like for each. Three great reads with a lot to unpack across all of them.
The "VC Returns Suck" Narrative (And How We All Spin The Data)
Venture's Nifty Fifty Moment
The Four Approaches to Early Stage Venture
(0:25) Introduction to the Learning Corner podcast
(0:57) Micah Rosenbloom's insights on VC returns and portfolio construction
(3:09) The impact of large private companies on venture returns and LP/GP challenges
(7:08) Respecting different investment approaches and engaging in productive conversations
(9:08) AI investment risks and historical comparisons by Jeff Weinstein
(12:43) The venture capital monoculture and its consequences
(15:23) Early-stage venture models and narrative competition from Rob Go
(18:52) Generalists vs. specialists in the AI-focused investment cycle
(20:02) Closeout and thank yous
...more
21min
March 05, 2026 Episode #69: Anthropic's Safety Reckoning, Jack Dorsey Cuts Block in Half, The Venture Consensus Addiction
This week on The Learning Corner, Mia and Charles unpack the resignation letter of an Anthropic safety researcher who walked away from one of the most valuable companies in the world, alongside Anthropic quietly walking back its flagship safety commitment. They then dig into Jack Dorsey's decision to cut Block's workforce nearly in half, not because the business is struggling, but because he believes AI has fundamentally changed what it means to build a company. They close with a sharp LinkedIn post from Euclid Ventures GP Nic Poulos making the case that the venture industry has developed a consensus addiction, and the return data to back it up is hard to ignore.
Why I Left Anthropic – Mrinank Sharma, Substack
Anthropic Is Dropping the Central Pledge of Its Flagship Safety Policy – TIME
Jack Dorsey's Note to Block – X/Twitter
The Venture Consensus Addiction – Nic Poulos, LinkedIn
(0:00) Introduction to the podcast and today's topics
(0:50) Anthropic researcher's resignation and internal tech company dynamics
(6:53) Workforce reductions and the impact of AI on company performance
(11:58) Venture industry trends and seed valuations
(17:32) Role of mega funds and unicorn valuations in venture capital
(19:52) Conviction in investment decisions and value creation strategies
(22:03) Conclusion and sign-off
(22:16) Sponsor: Acknowledgments
...more
23min
February 26, 2026 Episode #68: The 2028 AI Crisis Memo, Rethinking Series A, 2021 Founders Hitting Reset
This week we dig into the viral Citrini Research "2028 Global Intelligence Crisis" memo, a scenario written from the future that rattled public markets and sparked a real conversation about what happens when AI works exactly as promised. We also highlight a great StrictlyVC Download episode with Stacy Brown-Philpot, founder of Cherryrock Capital, on what it takes to win at Series A in today's market. We close with a LinkedIn post from Alex Pall of Mantis Venture Capital on 2021-vintage founders hitting a first-principles reset in the age of AI.
The 2028 Global Intelligence Crisis
The Citrini Post Is Just a Scary Bedtime Story — Noah Smith
Rethinking Series A in the Age of Mega Funds — StrictlyVC Download
Alex Pall on 2021-Vintage Companies and the AI Reset
(0:00) Introduction to venture capital and the Sattrini memo
(1:08) Charles Hudson and Mia Farnham on AI, software deflation, and public reactions
(6:18) Venture capital concerns and comparison to 2008 financial crisis
(9:02) Ethical considerations in tech investments and the importance of substance
(12:13) Stacey Brown Philpott's insights from Strictly VC download
(15:59) Alex Paul on the fate of 2021 vintage companies and founder decisions
(18:59) The correlation between excitement and output in startups
(20:36) Closing remarks and thanks
...more
21min

FAQs about The Learning Corner by Precursor:

How many episodes does The Learning Corner by Precursor have?

The podcast currently has 78 episodes available.